Automatic boot-polisher



3 Sheets-Sheet 1:

J. W. KIRBY. AUTOMATIC BOOT POLISHER, PERFUMER, MIRROR, AND GUM MACHINE.

Patente d Sept; 14, 1897.

iix I; Z14

(No Model.)

TH: NORRIS PETERS co. worn-uma. WASHINGTON: n c

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. W. KIRBY. AUTOMATIC BOOT POLISHER, PERFUMBR, MIRROR, AND GUMMACHINE.-

No; 590,067. Patented Sept 14, 1897 INVENTOR (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet3.

I R J. W. KIRBY. AUTOMATIC BOOT POLISHBR, PERFUMER, MIRROR, ANDGUMMACHINE.

N0. 590,067. Patented Sept. 14,1897.

m: NORRIS warms co, rmmxumoq wnsulnawu. n. 04

TATES ATENT AUTOMATIC BOOT-POLISHER, PERFUMER, MIRROR, AND GUM-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 590,067, datedSeptember 14, 1897.

Application filed January 29, 1897 Serial No. 621,157. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN WV. KIRBY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Scranton, in the county of Lackawanna and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in aCombined Boot- Polisher, Handkerchief-Perfumer, Looking- Glass, andGum-Machine; and I do hereby declare the following. to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relatesto improvements in coin-controlled machines, andmore particularly such as are adapted to deliver gum, perfumehandkerchiefs, polish shoes, and present a mirror before a person upondropping a coin in the machine.

It consists in certain novel constructions, combinations, andarrangements of parts, as will be hereinafter fully described andclaimed. i

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,Figure 1 represents a longitudinal vertical sect-ion through my improveddevice. Fig. 2 represents a detail front elevation of themirror-inclosing frame. Fig. 3 represents a detail plan view, partiallyin section, showing the means for tripping the alarm mechanism. Fig.ell-represents a vertical transverse sectional'view through the bootcleaning and blacking mechanism. Fig. 5 represents a top plan view ofthe chair-base, showing the controlling-plate upon the same. Fig. 6represents a detail sectional View of the chair-seat, showing thelocking mechanism within the same.- Fig. 7 represents a top plan view ofthe whole device, the standards supporting the mirror being shown insection. Fig. Sis a transverse vertical section through the chair-seatand the base of the device and also through the gum-deliveringmechanism. Fig. 9 is anenlarged sectional View through thegum-delivering mechanism. Fig. 10 is a perspective view of thehand-operated slide of the gum mechanism. Fig. his a detail perspectiveView of one of the slides used in the gum mechanism. V A -in thedrawings is the base of a machine constructed in accordance with myinvention. B is the chair mounted thereon; D, the cleaning and polishingmechanism.

.E is a gum-delivering device, and F is a handkerchief-perfuming device.

In the forward end of the base A a trans verse shaft H is mounted,carrying at one end a coil actuating-spring, as h. A drum or casing 71.surrounds the coil-spring, and suitable ratchet mechanism is interposedbetween the spring and the said casin g whereby the spring may be woundup when desired. The shaft H carries bevel-gears 72. 71 which mesh withcorresponding bevelgears d d, which are keyed or otherwise secured tothe lower end of upwardly-extending inclined shafts d (1 The upper endsof these shafts carry sprocketwheels d d, mounted in the casin g of thepolishing mechanism D. In order to regulate the speed of the shaft H,gearing is provided to connect the same with a governor. On the shaftHis mounted a bevel-gear 72 which meshes with a bevel-pinion upon theshaft 71 mounted in the baseA at right angles to the shaft H. This shaft7?. also carries a gear- .wheeli h, meshing witha pinion 71- uponanother shaft h parallel tothe said shaft 71 "lhe'shaft h also carries alarge gear-wheel h", which engages a worm h upon an upright shaft h,mounted in the frame-A. The up per end of the shaft 71- carries a pairof weighted arms h 77. whichact as a regulating means to the speed ofthe mechanism described.

The polishing mechanism D is inclosed by a casing d mounted on the topof the base A. WVithin the casing d v are arranged footrests, as 01 61The heel portions of the footrests receive the upper endsof the inclinedshaft 01 forming the upper bearing for the same. The toe portions of thefoot-rests extend beneath the sprocket-wheels d d, which are connectedwith the'sprocket-wheels d d and operated by sprocketchains d 614 Thesprocket-chains c1 c1 carry sponges so closely arranged as to formalmost a continuous cleaning or polishing means. In order to supply thesponges of the sprocket-chains with suitable cleaning and polishingliquids, I mount cans or tanks 01 (1 upon a suitable shelf in the casing61 above the sprocket-chains, the said tanks having spouts extending inmore imity to the chains constructed in any wellknown manner, so as toallow the cleaning or polishing liquids to drip constantly upon thesponges on the chains. As there is liable to be a great deal of drippingfrom said chains I provide a collecting-pan beneath them, as D, whichcatches all of the drippings and by collecting pan or tray is preferablylocated beneath the same for collecting the drippings therefrom, whichare led into a vessel (Z and may be returned therefrom to the tank d.The outer chains 61 d and tanks (1 are preferably used for polishingshoes and are provided with suitable polishing fluid.

When it is desired to clean and polish shoes, one footis placed on thecleaning mechanism, the toe being projected through the chain d, thefoot resting upon the foot-rest C1 and as the chain revolves the shoewill be thoroughly cleaned by the sponges carried thereby.

WVhile I contemplate using any desired cleansing composition, yet Iprefer to use one composed of sweet-oil and steel-drops, which I find isvery effective for cleansing purposes. I also prefer to use a polishingliquid for the shoes consisting of a composition of benzoin, lampblack,soot, and steel-drops. After the other shoe has been cleaned in asimilarmanner the feet are placed upon the foot-rests d d of thepolishing device and the polish is spread upon the shoes by the chains(Z al in the same manner that the cleansing fluid was appliedpreviously.

In order to prevent any of the cleansing or polishing liquids fromgetting upon the trousers of the person having the shoes operated upon,I prefer to use a rubber band G, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings,which is slipped on over the shoe and not only protects the pants, butprevents the polish from extending up too high upon the shoe.

The sprocket-chains 01 (Z are kept continually running, so that they arealways ready for use, it being merely necessary to wind up the spring itoccasionally before it is quite run down.

On the rear end of the base A is mounted a chair or seat B. The base ofthis chair is preferably an inclosing casing Z) to conceal the workingparts located beneath the said chair. The seat proper, b, of the saidchair is exterior to the said casing 19 and is provided with legs orstandards 19 Z2 which are located directly above apertures in the top ofthe casing 1), so that when the seat is depressed the legs will extendinto the openings In order to prevent the legs entering said openings 11b and normally hold the seat in its elevated position, a frame or plate,as Z2 is interposed between the seat 12 and top of the casing b. Theframe or plate 12 is also provided with apertures corresponding with theapertures b so that when the plate is in such a position as to bring theapertures therein in coinciwhich extends through the base of thegumdelivering machine and has an operatinghandle 2 secured theretoexternally of the housing of the gum-delivering mechanism. The slide 6is provided with an aperture 6 and a coin-engaging tongue 6 extends intothe same. The slide is also provided with a depending arm 6 upon itsunder side, which assists in holding the coin that may be dropped intothe device.

The casing of the gum-delivering device is provided with grooves, as 6 ein which the slide is adapted to be reciprocated. Another pair ofgrooves o a below the grooves 6 receive and guide the slide e The slide6 is provided with an aperture 6 and a depending lug 6 extending intosaid aperture, and an upwardly-extending lug 6 also extending in saidaperture. One end of the slide 6 is bent upwardly and carries at itsupper end a pusher or ejector a adapted to push out a block of gum frombeneath a column of the same carried in the casing above the said slide,the said block of gum being delivered exteriorly of the said casing. Aspring 6 beneath the slide a engages the lug e at one end and is fixedto the casing of the device at the other end and operates to retract theslide c after it has been pulled out. A spring 6 is also mounted in thecasing and attached thereto at one end and to a projection upon theslide 6 at the other apertures to draw the slide back into the casing.

A casing or box E is mounted above the mechanism just described and isadapted to hold vertically-arranged columns of block gum. The top of thebox is provided with a lid and locked, so that it cannot be tamperedwith by unauthorized parties, but facilitates the reloading of the boxwith gum.

Between the seat of the chair I) and the plate 19 is arranged a lockingdevice carried by the .under side of the said seat. It consists of alever 19 having a depending end adapted to drop into an opening b in theplate 19 When the same is pulled outwardly by the plate e when actuatedby the slide 6 and handle e, so as to lock the said plate 73 with itscorner-apertures coinciding with the apertures b b It will thus be seenthat the chairseat will be in position to descend upon receiving theweight of a person who may sit upon it. A lever b is also pivotallymounted beneath the seat I), one end of the lever being engaged by thesaid seat and the other end engaging the lever Z1 so that upondepressing the seat the lever b will be caused to raise the lever b outof the aperture 17 and IOC IIO

release the plate b, the spring c above described operating to returnthe said plate I) and slide 6 to their normal positions. The casing E-isprovided with an aperture, as e, to receive the coins required tooperate the machine.

It will be apparent from the drawings and description that pulling outthe slide a by the handle 6 without depositing a coin in the device willproduce no effect upon the mechanism, but upon putting a coin in thedevice it will drop down between the projections e and e of the slide 6and engage the projection e of the slide 6 so that upon pulling forththe slide 6 the slide e will also be pulled forward and a block of gumbe knocked out of its column and delivered and the plate Z7 will bepulled forward and locked by the lever 6 so that the chair-seat will beleft free to descend when a person sits upon it. Aprojection E upon theinner side of the casing is adapted to knock the coin out of itsposition between the lugs e and e into the moneydrawer. The descent ofthe chair-seat after ithas been unlocked is productive of other resultsfor which the machine is adapted.

The shoe polishing mechanism, as above shown, is inclosed in a casing dand the front of this casing is provided with a sliding door al which isnormally held closed by the springs 61 d. The door 61 is connected to alever d5 pivotally mounted in the casin g A. A bar (Z is pivoted to thelever 01 between its fulcrum-point and the door. The upper end of thesaid bar (1 extends upwardly and is attached to a bar 6 secured to theunder side of the seat I) of the chair ]3. It will thus be seen thatupon depressing the seat I) the lever 61 will be forced downwardly,carrying the door d with it and opening the front of the casing 61 sothat the feet may be extended into the same and the shoes cleaned andpolished, as above described.

Upon the end of the casing A opposite to the chair B are verticalstandards ct a, connected at their upper ends by a cross-frame a.Pivoted in the frame a are levers a (1.

To the inner ends of the levers a a is secured a mirror, the outer endsof the said levers being pivotally attached to vertical rods (1- aextending downwardly and into the base A, where they are pivotallysecured to the forward ends of levers a a. The levers a d are fulcrumedabout centrally of their length and extend to a point below the chair B.Depending rods a a connected to the bar b upon the chair-seat I),connect the same with the rear ends of the levers b b. It will thus beapparent that upon depressing the chair-seat not only will the door 12of the polishing device be opened, but the levers a and rods a a will beactuated and the levers a will lower the mirror before the face of theperson sitting in the chair B.

To one side of the chair is a box F, form ing part of the perfumingdevice F. In the base Z) of the chair B is situated a perfumebottle, asf, provided with an atomizer .f' of usual form, the bulb f thereof beingplaced between the seat I) of the chair B and the plate b so that whenthe chair-seat descends perfumery will be ejected from the receptacle finto the box F to perfume a handkerchief or like article which may bedeposited in the said box.

In order to indicate when the shoes have been properly polished, Iprovide an alarm consisting of a bell secured to the slide or door d f.A striker I is mounted in the casing (1 in proximity to one of thechains d the said striker being free to rotate and being provided withlugs 't' t', which extend into the path of a projection i, secured tosaid sprocket-chain d It will be seen that upon the continued movementof the chain 61 the projection i will strike the projections it andcause the striker to be revolved until it strikes the bell upon theslide (Z which has been brought in close proximity thereto by thelowerin g of the said door d. The bell will thus serve as an indicatorof the fact that the shoes have been sufficiently polished.

It will be seen that the above-described machine is so constructed thatthe different f unctions adapted to be performed thereby can only besecured in a proper manner, for the different mechanisms are allproperly inclosed and dependent in their operation upon the depositingof the proper coin in the gum-machine.

The operation of the devices is as follows: A person desiring to use themachine places the proper coinin the slot 9 Then taking hold of thehandle e he pulls the same outward. This operates to draw a block of gumand to set and lock the plate I) beneaththe chainseat, so that the saidchair-seat is in position to act upon the mechanism beneath it. Theperson then steps upon the base A and places his handkerchief in the boxF and the rubber bands G upon his shoes and seats himself in the chair.His weight operating upon the chair-seat immediately causes the perfumeto be ejected upon the handkerchief, the door of the shoepolishingmechanism to be opened, an d the mirror to be brought down opposite hisface. He first places his feet upon the cleansing mechanism and thenupon the polishing-platforms, whereupon the de: sired polish will beproduced upon his shoes. \Vhen sufficient time has elapsed for the shoesto be properly polished, the bell or alarm. will be sounded and theparty will know that his shoes are in the proper condition. Upon risingfrom the chair the parts return to their normal positions and cannot bedisturbed or moved therefrom except by the depositing of another coin.

Having now described my invention, what Iclaim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. In a coin-controlled machine, thecombi-' nation of a gum delivering mechanism, a chair connected thereto,means for per-fuming articles, cleaning and polishing shoes andpresenting a mirror controlled by the operation of said chair,substantially as described.

2. In a coin-controlled machine the combination With a gum-deliveringmechanism, of a chair comprising a base portion and a seat located abovethe same, a slide interposed between said seat and base portion, meansfor controlling the descent of the chair-seat connected with thegum-delivering mechanism and a perfuming, shoe-polishing andmirrorexposing devices connected with and actuated by the chair-seat,substantially as described.

3. In a coin-controlled machine, the combination with a gum-deliveringdevice, of a chair comprising a base portion, a seat separate therefrom,depending legs upon said seat adapted to extend into apertures formed inthe top of said base portion, a plate or slide interposed between thesaid base portion and the chair-seat and provided with apertures adaptedto coincide with the apertures in the base portion, means connecting theplate with the gum-deliverin g mechanism whereby the plate is adapted tocoincide with or to close the said openings in the base portion forenabling the seat of the chair to descend, substantially as described.

4:- In a coin-controlled machine, the combination with a suitable base,of a shoe-polishing mechanism mounted therein consisting of foot-rests,sprocket-chains carrying the pol ishing means, means for supplyingcleansing and polishing liquids to said chains and means for operatingthe said chains, a door adapted to close the said polishing mechanism, achair adapted to operate said door and a gum-delivering mechanismadapted to permit the operation of the chair, substantially asdescribed.

5. In a coin-controlled machine, the combi nation With a suitable base,of a shoe cleaning and polishing mechanism mounted therein consisting ofsprocket-chains carrying polish-applying means, sprocket-wheels carryingsaid chains, gearing for rotating said I sprocket-wheels, a mainspringfor operating said gearing, a governor and means for supplying cleansingand polishing fluids to said chains, a door adapted to control the useof said polish device, a chair for operating said door and agum-delivering mechanism for controlling the operation of the saidchair, substantially as described.

6. In a coin-controlled machine, the combination with a chair mountedupon a suitable casing consisting of a base portion and a separate seatportion above the same, a vessel adapted to hold perfumery mounted insaid base portion, a box or similar article mounted at the'side of thechair and means interposed between the said base portion and the seat ofthe chair for ejecting perfumery from said vessel into the box upon thedescent of the chair-seat, means for controlling the descent of thechair-seat and a gum-delivering mechanism operating said controllingmeans, substantially as described.

7. In a coin-controlled machine, the combination with a suitable frameof a mirror mounted thereon, levers for lowering and raising the saidmirror, means connected to said mirror and extending into the base ofsaid frame, a chairconnected with said means and a gum-deliveringmechanism adapted to control the operation of the chair whereby themirror is adapted to be raised or lowered as desired, substantially asdescribed.

8. In a coin-controlled apparatus, the combination with a chair mountedupon a suitable frame, means for controlling the descent of the seat ofthe said chair, a gum-delivering mechanism connected with said meansconsisting of a casing carrying blocks of gum, a slide for ejecting thesame, a spring for returning it to its normal position, another slideextending exteriorly of said casing and provided with an operating-bandle and means for causing the latter slide to operate the former upondepositing a coin in the machine, substantially as described.

9. In a coin-controlled apparatus, the combination with a suitablecasing, of a cleaning and polishing mechanism consisting offootrests,endless chains moving around the same, means for actuatingsaid chains, a door or slide adapted to expose said mechanism to use, analarm upon said door for indicating when the desired polishing has beenperformed, means upon one of said chains for operating the said alarmand a chair eonnected to said door and adapted to open or close the sameand a gum-delivering mechanism adapted to control the operation of saidchair, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I hereunto aflix myname in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN W. KIRBY.

In presence of- E. J. LYNETT; JOHN E. BRADLEY.

